1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to golf equipment and more particularly to a device for cleaning golf balls which can be incorporated into or onto a golf club.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As is well known to anyone who plays golf, the golf ball will frequently become dirty and in order to maintain desired flight properties and to make the ball suitable for putting, it is frequently necessary to clean the golf ball. Mechanical golf ball washers are found on most golf courses adjacent the teeing grounds but such locations are normally not convenient when putting. In other words, when on the putting green, it is standard procedure to mark one's ball and clean it prior to putting. Since the ball washers are not adjacent to the greens, other systems need to be employed in order to clean the ball. Many golfers carry wet towels on their golf bag or merely rub the ball against the grass on the green or surrounding area as a means of cleaning the ball. Neither system is always desirable, however, since all golfers don't carry towels and the grass on the green or surrounding areas is not always wet enough to effect an adequate cleaning of the ball.
The prior art includes numerous devices for cleaning golf balls. By way of example, U.S. Pat. No. 1,710,816 issued to Evans on Apr. 30, 1929, U.S. Pat. No. 3,462,230 issued to Beard on Aug. 19, 1969 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,411,040 issued to Sharrow et al. on Oct. 25, 1983, disclose devices for washing golf balls wherein a generally cup shaped surface is provided that includes a material suitable for abrasively cleaning the surface of the golf ball.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,006,009 issued to Hoffecker on Oct. 31, 1961, U.S. Pat. No. 3,041,645 issued to Smith on July 13, 1962, U.S. Pat. No. 3,583,016 issued to MoConnell on June 8, 1971, U.S. Pat. No. 4,381,574 issued to Bendovsky on May 3, 1983, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,442,564 issued to Berry on Apr. 17, 1984 all disclose various other ball washing implements which are suitable for use in cleaning golf balls.
It is also known in the art to incorporate certain golf implements into the end of a golf club. Examples of such arrangements are found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,799,684 issued to Rango on Jan. 24, 1989 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,239,216 issued to Bauer on Dec. 16, 1980 with golf clubs disclosed therein including tools for repairing a golf course green after a golf ball has torn a divot therefrom. Another example of an implement incorporated into a golf club is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,553,752 issued to Bagg on Nov. 19, 1985 wherein a golf club handle includes a powder carrying chamber and means by which charges of powder can be selectively dropped on a green to mark the position of a golf ball. The golf club disclosed in the Bagg patent also includes a brush on the end of the club which can be scraped across the green to disburse the powder after a golf ball has been replaced so as not to mislead golfers on the same green later in the day.
It will therefore be seen from the state of the art that while devices have been devised for cleaning golf balls and golf clubs have been modified to incorporate various implements useful in the game of golf, the prior art is devoid of a system for incorporated a ball cleaning device into a golf club and also a system that improves upon the state of ball cleaning devices.
It is to overcome the shortcomings in prior art ball cleaning devices that the present invention has been developed.